Buying a new ultrabook - Any Suggestions

[Serius19]

I've been looking at laptops for the past month or so, and I really like Asus's laptops. So i thought i would go with them. I've had my eye on the Zenbook Prime Ux31A, the one with the i5 (ASUS ZENBOOK PRIME UX31A)

Just thought i get a second opinion, maybe someone has one and can shed some light on anything that might be bad about it. I'm also open to some suggestions to any other Ultrabooks.

I'm looking for a laptop mostly for school, some gaming but i do know how I'm limited by integrated graphics. I'm willing to pay around $1000 - $1600, I don't care about screen size but the full HD screen on the Asus is looking good.

Thanks,
Serius19

 

[Matt77]

4GB DDR3 Memory- this can be upgraded I believe
128GB SSD- enough space for you?

 

[Serius19]

Yeah I'm sure the ram could be upgraded, and the ssd is big enough for all the programs I use, and i was planning on using an external drive for movies, or games.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

The Zenbook Prime is a great choice, if I was getting an ultrabook it would be at the top of my list.

 

[iFargle]

MacBook Air or ASUS Zenbook Prime.

 

[Serius19]

Actually I've just been looking again at the Ux31A and the ram is soldered to the board. But the other model the Ux32VD (ASUS - Notebooks- ASUS ASUS ZENBOOK UX32VD) Has a little better specs like the dedicated graphics, and the ram and hard drive are both up-gradable. I don't mind having the 4GB of ram from the Ux31A, so would i be wasting my time and money upgrading the Ux32VD or not.
Lastly i seem to be having some trouble actually finding retailers in Australia for the UX32VD.

 

[Matt77]

For the RAM, expandibility is the best. Someday, you may need more RAM and a bigger HDD, better than buying another computer.

Amazon.com? newegg.com? Why not ship?

 

[Peter.Cort]

Shipping to Australia is super expensive, hence why most things in Australia that aren't made domestically are expensive. Look it up on a map and see how far it is from everywhere

That second zenbook you linked looks good, it appears to have the ability to toggle between the 620m and the intel x4000 gpu so you can switch it when you wanna game and when you need the battery life. Also 4gb of ram should be fine unless you're doing something intense on the laptop at which point I would question why you are going the ultrabook route.

Also 128gb is decently sizable. If it's your only computer then I'd think about it, I have D3, SC2, Dota 2, CS:GO and CS6 and a handful of other programs and am about up to the 128gb. I don't have any music on it, so if you're gonna be stuck with 128gb think about what you're realistically gonna put on it. Also that full hd screen is downright sexy, I'd love to have a full 1080p res on an ultrabook!

 

[tj_extreme]

I have a Zenbook Prime, with an i7. The screen is absolutely gorgeous. I don't use it every day, but I could. It should absolutely be on the top of your list. Best Ultrabook I've used to date.